End-of-grade tests based on new standards

Published: Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, May 17, 2013 at 6:31 p.m.

Kristi Harper's fifth-graders are solving geometric puzzles, working out logic problems and beating top scores in the online game "Calculation Nation."

It's the day before the Winter Park Elementary School students start taking end-of-grade math, reading and science tests.

To Harper's students, at the top of the elementary school totem pole, end-of-grade tests aren't anything new. They're used to the hours-long sessions of bubbling in answers that teachers start talking about at the beginning of the year.

But this year's subject matter is different. Tests statewide are now structured around the Common Core curriculum, which was implemented this fall. On math tests, for example, Harper's students will likely see word problems focusing heavily on fractions instead of answering numbers-based problems that cover a wide range of topics.

Harper has faith in her students' ability to do well on the new tests, saying they've been putting in diligent work all year long.

But at the same time, "they're having to change what they know about school," she said.

The Common Core sets up English and math standards that can move across state lines. Third-graders in North Carolina will learn the same things in their math classes as third-graders in California. So far, 45 states have adopted the Common Core standards.

Beyond creating a national education curriculum, the goal behind the Common Core is to go deeper into a smaller set of standards and teach students how they can apply what they learn. It's a curriculum based on evidence, Harper said. In reading, for example, students can't just say a story's character felt sad – they have to know why she felt that way. And in math, students have to show how they know that one-half plus one-half equals one whole.

North Carolina adopted the Common Core in 2010 as part of its federal Race to the Top grant. The Common Core was then slowly integrated into the schools' curriculum, with this fall marking the full adoption. Students are taking Common Core-based end-of-grade tests for the first time this year. For subjects such as social studies, science and foreign languages, each state adopts its own curriculum. In North Carolina, those are called the essential standards, and those tests are also new this year. Students won't learn how they did on them until October, said Tammy Howard, director of accountability operations for the state Department of Public Instruction. The time lag happens every time a new test is implemented because the state has to do something called standard setting, Howard said.

In layman's terms, standard setting is figuring out how to grade a brand-new test. The state Department of Public Instruction will analyze tests and talk to teachers, Howard said, which will take a while. The late release date also means students won't have a chance to take the test again if they did poorly.

Because of the new, more rigorous curriculum, Howard said, test scores will likely be lower than they were after the 2011-12 school year. But she's not sure yet how big the drop will be.

"Anything we say would just be speculation," she said.

Even if scores fall, giving students a deeper understanding of concepts will help them in the long run – and it's a form of learning that more students get, said Winter Park Elementary teacher Lara Tyndall. She hasn't changed how she gets her students ready for the end-of-grade tests – it's still like prepping for a marathon, she said – but she has changed how she's taught them.

She uses long divison as an example. Not every student can memorize a set of steps or tricks to get an answer. But they can think, "‘I need to see how many times this (number) goes into this (number) without going over,'" Tyndall said.

That's a change from old teaching styles, which had students pull out key words and circle numbers in test questions, Harper said. Teachers pushed these tricks because students were having to remember so many different concepts.

"For so long in North Carolina, we've been teaching standards that were a mile long and an inch deep," Harper said.

Now, students have to read the whole problem and figure out how to apply what they've learned. Students studied fewer concepts more intensely, making the curriculum more rigorous. But as Harper looks at her group just a day before their testing begins, she feels like they've got it.

<p>Kristi Harper's fifth-graders are solving geometric puzzles, working out logic problems and beating top scores in the online game "Calculation Nation." </p><p>It's the day before the Winter Park Elementary School students start taking end-of-grade math, reading and science tests. </p><p>To Harper's students, at the top of the elementary school totem pole, end-of-grade tests aren't anything new. They're used to the hours-long sessions of bubbling in answers that teachers start talking about at the beginning of the year. </p><p>But this year's subject matter is different. Tests statewide are now structured around the Common Core curriculum, which was implemented this fall. On math tests, for example, Harper's students will likely see word problems focusing heavily on fractions instead of answering numbers-based problems that cover a wide range of topics.</p><p>Harper has faith in her students' ability to do well on the new tests, saying they've been putting in diligent work all year long. </p><p>But at the same time, "they're having to change what they know about school," she said. </p><p>The Common Core sets up English and math standards that can move across state lines. Third-graders in North Carolina will learn the same things in their math classes as third-graders in California. So far, 45 states have adopted the Common Core standards. </p><p>Beyond creating a national education curriculum, the goal behind the Common Core is to go deeper into a smaller set of standards and teach students how they can apply what they learn. It's a curriculum based on evidence, Harper said. In reading, for example, students can't just say a story's character felt sad – they have to know why she felt that way. And in math, students have to show how they know that one-half plus one-half equals one whole.</p><p>North Carolina adopted the Common Core in 2010 as part of its federal Race to the Top grant. The Common Core was then slowly integrated into the schools' curriculum, with this fall marking the full adoption. Students are taking Common Core-based end-of-grade tests for the first time this year. For subjects such as social studies, science and foreign languages, each state adopts its own curriculum. In North Carolina, those are called the essential standards, and those tests are also new this year. Students won't learn how they did on them until October, said Tammy Howard, director of accountability operations for the state Department of Public Instruction. The time lag happens every time a new test is implemented because the state has to do something called standard setting, Howard said. </p><p>In layman's terms, standard setting is figuring out how to grade a brand-new test. The state Department of Public Instruction will analyze tests and talk to teachers, Howard said, which will take a while. The late release date also means students won't have a chance to take the test again if they did poorly.</p><p>Because of the new, more rigorous curriculum, Howard said, test scores will likely be lower than they were after the 2011-12 school year. But she's not sure yet how big the drop will be.</p><p>"Anything we say would just be speculation," she said.</p><p>Even if scores fall, giving students a deeper understanding of concepts will help them in the long run – and it's a form of learning that more students get, said Winter Park Elementary teacher Lara Tyndall. She hasn't changed how she gets her students ready for the end-of-grade tests – it's still like prepping for a marathon, she said – but she has changed how she's taught them. </p><p>She uses long divison as an example. Not every student can memorize a set of steps or tricks to get an answer. But they can think, "'I need to see how many times this (number) goes into this (number) without going over,'" Tyndall said.</p><p>That's a change from old teaching styles, which had students pull out key words and circle numbers in test questions, Harper said. Teachers pushed these tricks because students were having to remember so many different concepts.</p><p>"For so long in North Carolina, we've been teaching standards that were a mile long and an inch deep," Harper said.</p><p>Now, students have to read the whole problem and figure out how to apply what they've learned. Students studied fewer concepts more intensely, making the curriculum more rigorous. But as Harper looks at her group just a day before their testing begins, she feels like they've got it.</p><p>"We know fractions upside down and inside out," she said.</p><p><i></p><p>Pressley Baird: 343-2328</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @PressleyBaird</i></p>